OK, so multitracking to tape simply means that I record onto a TASCAM or something like it, and then send it onto my computer for the mixing? Will I lose some of this delicious "mid-range" that analog supposedly picks up so well?
I like the idea of doing EQ's by hand on a mixing board rather than electronically in a program. Wouldn't this also address the stereo thing, as I pan each track individually? Or does that not happen on mixing boards?
night1fly, I don't know a thing about any of that. But I'm OK with it. Glad to see there are a bunch of other people enthusiastic about it and willing to be learning resources!
Just to clarify: You normally wouldn't send the tracks into your computer for mixing. Some people do this, but most people who want to "record analog" usually like to mix analog as well.
So here's how it would basically work:
1. You get (let's say) an 8-track RTR machine and a mixer with 8 or 16 channels most likely. It would need at least 2 sub outs, but 4 would be preferable. These are known as 8x2, 8x4, 16x2, or 16x4 mixers, FYI. If you don't have 4 sub outs, then direct outs would be mighty handy.
2. You plug a mic into channel 1 on your mixer (let's say) to record an acoustic guitar. That channel is routed to track 1 on your RTR. There are several ways this could be done. If you have a direct out, it could just go from the direct out on CH 1 of the mixer straight into TRK 1 (or any track) on the RTR. Or you could assign the acoustic guitar to one of the sub outs on your mixer, and that sub out could go to TRK 1 on the RTR.
3. You would have all 8 outputs from your RTR patched into tracks 1-8 of your mixer to hear them on playback. This is where things get a little tricky depending on how versatile your mixer is. If you have a 16 channel mixer (FYI, I got my Tascam M-216 for $100, which is a 16x4 mixer), you can just use CHs 1-8 on your mixer for playback and then use CHs 9-16 for recording signals. (So, in this example, you would plug the acoustic mic into CH 9 of your mixer, let's say, instead of CH 1.)
If your mixer has only 8 CH, you can usually still make that work because the mixer will most likely have "tape in" jacks for those 8 CH. (The Tascam M-30, for instance, which Sweetbeats mentioned, is like this.) These jacks are meant for the playback from your multi-track RTR. To hear these playback tracks, they're routed to a separate submix called a "cue" mix. This allows you to use the CH on the mixer for recording (in which case you'd send the signal to the RTR via a direct out jack or assign it to a sub out) and also listening to the tracks recorded on the RTR. Each CH on the mixer will have a CUE knob, and by turning that up, it routes the signal to a CUE jack on the back, which can go to speakers, or it also routes it to the headphone jack.
This is essential for overdubbing. Once you've recorded your acoustic on TRK 1, you obviously need to be able to hear that while recording on another track.
4. After you've recorded all your tracks, you won't use the CUE mix for the playback tracks anymore. The purpose of the mixing board changes here, and you're in "mixdown." You'll assign all CHs to the main mix (or sub groups 1 and 2, depending on how your board is set up). You'd plug the L/R output (or sub 1 and 2 output) jacks into two channels on your computer A/I, set it to monitor the line input, and monitor the signal through the speakers from there.
A) Each CH on the mixer will have
EQ on it, so you can make additional EQ adjustments here (you can also do this when you record the tracks as well).
B) Each CH on the mixer will also most likely have 1 or 2
FX sends. These are represented by knobs on the front panel. There will be an FX send jack on the back of the mixer. You'd connect it to (let's say) the input on a reverb unit, and you'd connect the outputs of the reverb unit back to the mixer. You can either plug the output of the reverb unit into the FX return on the mixer (if it has them), or you can also bring the reverb signal(s) back into extra channels on the mixer if you have them. If you're using a 16-CH mixer, for instance, you'd have CHs 9-16 open at this point. This is ideal because it allows you to EQ the reverb if you'd like!
The more sends you have, the more effects you can use. (Really awesome pro boards will have 8 sends or more, but you'll be lucky to have two on an 8 or 16 CH board.) Your board may also have "insert" jacks on each CH. These are TRS jacks that all you to use a TRS Y cord so that one can connect to the input of a processor (delay, let's say), and the other can connect to the output. So the signal would come from the tape machine into the CH on the mixer, go out the insert jack into the delay, come out the delay back into the insert jack, and then proceed on down the CH to the EQ, etc. This allows you to put an effect on only one instrument. The FX send, however, allows you to add an effect to several tracks at once, if you want. If you want the same reverb on the vocal and acoustic, for instance, you'd hook the reverb up to the FX send loop. Then you'd turn up the FX send knob on the vocal and acoustic channels. You can set them independently (if you wanted more verb on the acoustic than the vocal, let's say). Then those two channels are blended together, sent out the FX send jack into the reverb unit, which would be set to 100% wet (effect), and then returned through either the return jacks or extra channels on the mixer. Either way, there will be some way to control the level of this reverb signal. So you can control how much of the reverb you want added to the mix.
C) Each CH on the mixer will have a
pan knob, so you can adjust where it sits in the L to R stereo field.
D) Each CH on the mixer will also have a
level control, which is usually a fader. This allows you to adjust the relative level of each track.
E) The mixer will also have a
master fader or faders. This is the volume that's being sent out the L/R (or sub 1 and 2) jacks. Ideally, this should be set to the shaded area for best S/N ratio. This is usually around 7-8. If you have this fader(s) set here, and your levels are distorting the board, then you need to lower the levels of all the TRKs. If you're not getting a strong enough level, then you'd need to raise the level of all the TRKs. Obviously, it's best if you just start mixing with the master fader at optimum (7-8), and then you won't have that issue.
Once you get a good mix, you record it to two tracks on your computer, and you're done!
I actually meant for this to be a quick response, but I obviously covered a lot of ground here. Hopefully it all makes sense, but feel free to ask questions if it doesn't.
I should also say that ever mixer is slightly different, and every person is too. Some people do things differently than others, but I think this is a fairly common M.O.
I still have a 4-track (Tascam 246) and always will.